National Business - The Morning Sun

More than 10 years after legal marijuana sales launched in Washington state, the first store under a social equity program has opened. The state's program aims to remedy the effect that the war on drugs had on black and brown communities.

The drug war devastated Black and other minority communities. Is marijuana legalization helping?

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A major argument for legalizing the adult use of cannabis after 75 years of prohibition was to stop the harm caused by disproportionate enforcement of drug laws in Black, Latino and other minority … more

By GENE JOHNSON | 4/20/24

Jeff Maimon, of Chicago, checks out some vinyl at Tracks In Wax record shop, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Phoenix. Special LP releases, live performances and at least one giant block party are scheduled around the U.S. Saturday as hundreds of shops celebrate Record Store Day amid a surge of interest in vinyl and the day after the release of Taylor Swift's latest album. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Record Store Day celebrates indie retail music sellers as they ride vinyl's popularity wave

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Record Store Day celebrates independent retail music sellers who have endured long after megastores like Tower Records closed. The holiday invented at a gathering of independent record store owners … more

By ANITA SNOW | 4/20/24

The Supreme Court stands in Panama City, Monday, April 8, 2024 as the trial starts for those charged in connection with the worldwide “Panama Papers” money laundering case. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera)

Panama Papers trial's public portion comes to an unexpectedly speedy end

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The public portion of a Panamanian trial of more than two-dozen associates accused of helping some of the world’s richest people hide their wealth has come to an unexpectedly speedy conclusion. A … more

By JUAN ZAMORANO | 4/19/24

The exterior of the Sphere is pictured on Friday, April 19, 2024, in Las Vegas. The band Phish started its four-night residency on Thursday. (AP Photo/Josh Cornfield)

Here’s how Phish is using the Sphere's technology to give fans something completely different

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Phish opened its four-night stay at the Sphere Thursday with a four-hour show. The concert used the advanced technology in the $2.3 billion Las Vegas arena to give even the fans that have seen Phish … more

By JOSH CORNFIELD | 4/19/24

FILE - New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, left, Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, right, participate in the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., June 5, 2023. Terry and Kim Pegula are exploring the possibility of selling a non-controlling, minority interest in the franchise, the team announced Friday, April 19, 2024. The prospect of selling shares of the Bills comes at a time the franchise is facing a cash crunch with rising construction costs of the team’s new stadium. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)

Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula explores selling non-controlling, minority stake in franchise

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Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula are exploring the possibility of selling a non-controlling, minority interest in the franchise, the team announced. A person with knowledge of the decision … more

By JOHN WAWROW | 4/19/24

FILE - Traffic crosses from Mexico into the United States at a border station in Santa Teresa, N.M., in this photo made in March 14, 2012. The U.S. Border Patrol is asserting its right to seize cannabis shipments — including state-authorized commercial supplies — amid complaints of licensed cannabis providers that more than $300,000 worth of marijuana has been confiscated in recent months at Border Patrol highway checkpoints in southern New Mexico. (AP Photo/Jeri Clausing, File)

Cannabis seizures at checkpoints by US-Mexico border frustrate state-authorized pot industry

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The U.S. Border Patrol is asserting its authority to seize cannabis shipments amid complaints by licensed cannabis suppliers that shipments worth more than $300,000 have been confiscated in recent … more

By MORGAN LEE | 4/19/24

An E15 nozzle is displayed on a pum at service station in Minneapolis, Monday, Oct. 28, 2013 photo. The Environmental Protection Agency cleared the way Friday, April 19, 2024, for E15, a higher blend of ethanol, to be sold nationwide for the third summer in a row. Gasoline with 10% ethanol is already sold nationwide, but the higher blend has been prohibited in the summer because of concerns it could worsen smog during warm weather. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP, File)

The EPA is again allowing summer sales of higher ethanol gasoline blend, citing global conflicts

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The Environmental Protection Agency is allowing the sale of gasoline containing a higher blend of ethanol for the third summer in a row. The emergency waiver issued Friday will exempt gasoline … more

By JOSH FUNK | 4/19/24

Salvage work continues on the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Baltimore. The FBI confirmed that agents were aboard the Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Crews turn sights to removing debris from ship's deck in Baltimore bridge collapse cleanup

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Salvage crews at the site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore are turning their focus to the thousands of tons of debris sitting atop the massive cargo ship that veered off course … more

By LEA SKENE | 4/19/24

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during the AmCham China Fireside Chat held at the Baiyun International Conference Center (BICC) in southern China's Guangdong province, Friday, April 5, 2024.(AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool)

Thai plastics firm will pay $20 million to settle with U.S. over Iran sanctions violations

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A Bangkok-based plastics firm has agreed to pay $20 million to settle with the U.S. over 467 violations of Iran sanctions. The U.S. Treasury announced the settlement on Friday. Treasury says the firm … more

By FATIMA HUSSEIN | 4/19/24

COP29 President-designate Mukhtar Babayev takes part in an interview with The Associated Press at the Azerbaijan embassy in Washington on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Next UN climate talks are critical to plot aid for poorer nations, says incoming president

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The man who will run this year’s United Nations climate talks in November views the upcoming negotiations as a key link in international efforts to curb worsening global warming — if they can be … more

BY SETH BORENSTEIN | 4/19/24

FILE - A "We stand with the UAW" sign appears outside of the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Dec. 18, 2023. Workers at at the Tennessee factory are scheduled to finish voting Friday, April 19, 2024, on whether they want to be represented by the United Auto Workers union. (Olivia Ross/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP, File)

Tennessee Volkswagen workers to vote on union membership in test of UAW's plan to expand its ranks

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The United Auto Workers’ ambitious drive to expand its reach to nonunion factories across the South and elsewhere faces a key test Friday night, when workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, … more

By TOM KRISHER | 4/19/24

Apple pulls WhatsApp and Threads from App Store on Beijing's orders

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Apple says it has removed Meta’s WhatsApp messaging app and its Threads social media app from the App Store in China on Beijing’s orders. Apple said that the apps were removed from the store on … more

By ZEN SOO | 4/19/24

FILE - The U.S. Treasury Department building, June 6, 2019, in Washington. The U.S. and U.K. on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran as concern grows that Tehran’s unprecedented attack on Israel could fuel a wider war in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

US sanctions fundraisers for extremist West Bank settlers who commit violence against Palestinians

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The Biden administration is imposing sanctions on two entities accused of fundraising for extremist Israeli-occupied West Bank settlers who have harassed and attacked Palestinians. Also sanctioned … more

By FATIMA HUSSEIN | 4/19/24

FILE - Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, on May 12, 2021. The Environmental Protection Agency has designated two "forever chemicals" that have been used in cookware, carpets and firefighting foams as hazardous substances.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

EPA designates 2 forever chemicals as hazardous substances, eligible for Superfund cleanup

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The Environmental Protection Agency has designated two forever chemicals used in cookware, carpets and firefighting foams as hazardous substances. Friday's action is intended to ensure quicker … more

By MATTHEW DALY | 4/19/24

Thomas Bach, IOC President speaks at the International Olympic Committee launch of the Olympic AI Agenda at Lee Valley VeloPark, in London, Friday, April 19, 2024. They will be presenting the envisioned impact that artificial intelligence can deliver for sport, and how the IOC intends to lead on the global implementation of AI within sport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Olympic organizers unveil strategy for using artificial intelligence in sports

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Olympic organizers have unveiled their plans to use artificial intelligence in sports, joining the global rush to capitalize on the rapidly advancing technology. The International Olympic Committee … more

4/19/24

FILE - An advertisement for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin displayed on a tram, May 12, 2021, in Hong Kong. Sometime in the next few days or even hours, the “miners” who chisel bitcoins out of complex mathematics are going to take a 50% pay cut — effectively slicing new emissions of the world’s largest cryptocurrency in an event called bitcoin halving. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

Bitcoin's next 'halving' is right around the corner. Here's what you need to know

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Sometime in the next few days or even hours, the “miners” who chisel bitcoins out of complex mathematics are going to take a 50% pay cut — effectively slicing new production of the world’s … more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS | 4/19/24

This July 8, 2004, photo provided by the United States Geological Survey shows Fish Creek through the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. (David W. Houseknecht/United States Geological Survey via AP)

Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve

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The Biden administration has finalized rules that would restrict new oil and gas leasing and development in portions of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska that are considered particularly … more

By BECKY BOHRER and MATTHEW DALY | 4/19/24

FILE - A sign is shown on a Google building at their campus in Mountain View, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2019. A group of Japanese doctors has filed a civil lawsuit against U.S. search giant Google, demanding damages for what they claim are unpoliced derogatory and often false comments. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Tokyo District Court, demands 1.4 million yen ($9,400) in damages for 63 medical professionals.(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Japanese doctors demand damages from Google over "groundless" reviews

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A group of Japanese doctors has filed a civil lawsuit against U.S. search giant Google, demanding damages for what they say are results showing unpoliced derogatory and often false comments. The … more

By YURI KAGEYAMA | 4/19/24

FILE - In this April 27, 2011, file photo, the entrance to downtown Libby, Mont., is seen. BNSF Railway attorneys are expected to argue before jurors Friday, April 19, 2024, that the railroad should not be held liable for the lung cancer deaths of two former residents of the asbestos-contaminated Montana town, one of the deadliest sites in the federal Superfund pollution program. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

BNSF Railway says it didn't know about asbestos that's killed hundreds in Montana town

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BNSF Railway attorneys are expected to argue before jurors that the railroad should not be held liable for the lung cancer deaths of two former residents of an asbestos-contaminated Montana town. … more

By MATTHEW BROWN and AMY BETH HANSON | 4/19/24

A newly adopted dog is held at Oakland Animal Services on Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. The city animal shelter has seen a surge in pets surrendered by tenants who can't find rentals that allow pets. A bill in California wants to make more rental housing available to tenants with pets. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Finding an apartment may be easier for California pet owners under new legislation

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A bill in California wants to make more rental housing available to tenants with pets. Assembly Bill 2216 would ban blanket no-pets policies and prohibit landlords from charging extra for security … more

By TERRY CHEA and JANIE HAR | 4/19/24